


AIP Ficlet Collection

by ShadowoftheLamp



Series: Adventures in Parenthood [8]
Category: Invader Zim
Genre: Ficlet Collection
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-17
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:33:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 6,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26506759
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadowoftheLamp/pseuds/ShadowoftheLamp
Summary: A collection of fics directly in the Adventures in Parenthood universe that I'd rather not post on their own but want to share anyway.A quick summary of each ficlet will be in the first chapter's beginning author's note.
Relationships: Dib/Zim (Invader Zim)
Series: Adventures in Parenthood [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1532000
Comments: 14
Kudos: 80





	1. Aunt Gaz

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For context, you'll want to read the first fic in this series 'Adventures in Parenthood', but I will be jumping around to multiple dates in the timeline and in Twix's life. These are generally posted here because a: they're really short, b: I feel like they don't make sense outside of reading the fic, or c: it involves only Twix or Tulip. (Which also kind of falls under 'b'.)
> 
> 1\. Aunt Gaz is alone for the first time with Nebula Twix.  
> 2\. Twix's first word.  
> 3\. Tulip explains why she likes hanging out with Twix.  
> 4\. Tulip and Twix bodyswap.  
> 5\. A pair of proposals.  
> 6\. Tulip first meets Twix.  
> 7\. Twix gets a baby surprise.  
> 8\. Zim is softer than he used to be. Dib likes it.  
> 9\. The first time the PZA saw each other.  
> 10\. Twix makes a new plant.  
> 11\. Zim is hungry. (Inspired by Relish the Flavor, the Halloween chapter, but a bit tamer)  
> 12\. Twix and Tulip get into a fight.  
> 

"So _you're_ the little squirt that stole my brother." The couch she was sitting on smelled like nacho cheese, vomit, and what was undeniably hot dog water. She wasn't sure how much of that was Gir, how much was Dib, and how much was little Nebula.

"Pffffthbt." The baby blinked up at her, reaching up with little off-green hands to grab at Gaz's shirt. She had a single big pink tooth.

Dib, right now, was at the grocery store, having shoved the baby into Gaz's arms as soon as she walked in the door.

_"Zim's recovering from an explosion, Gir's locked in his room, and I just need you to hold her for a minute, okay?"_

_"I **told** you, I'm not babysitting-" Gaz started to protest, but he was already out the door. From the back, she could see that his hair spike had splintered into five pieces, he was clad in stained sweatpants, and he looked more tired than she'd ever seen him. (Considering he'd once stayed up all week in order to keep away the 'hypno-bees', that was saying something.)_

So here she was. With a fat little drooly baby that was smiling up from her lap.

Nebula had Gaz's nose, she realized. It curled up a little at the end. Gaz poked it, and she laughed, shaking her tiny little limbs and squirming against Gaz's skirt before making a little sneeze as Gaz held her up to the light.

"Well, I'm your aunt Gaz. I guess I'll have to get used to you."

"Ga!"

"Gaz."

"Gah?" Her nose wrinkled and her chubby cheeks puffed out, and Gaz found herself smiling. For a hybrid between her brother and _Zim_ , she was kind of cute. Lucky her.

"We'll work on it. Maybe you'll be a little easier to manage then your dads."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the record, Dib is INCREDIBLY frazzled at the moment. He’s not even 19 and has a half-alien baby and probably hasn’t slept in like a week and Zim just blew himself up _again._ He’s running on fumes, forgive him.
> 
> Comments and kudos appreciated!


	2. First Word

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's a hectic day, and Twix surprises her dads.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one was posted with the [AIP zine.](https://shadowofthelamp.tumblr.com/post/626923318106324992/the-aip-zine-is-done-everybody-go-look-with-your)

“Twix. Twiiiiix. Say my name.” Zim lazily rolled his wrist, and she swiped at the spaceship dangling at the end of the string attached to the stick he was clutching. Outside, rain pounded on the base, a neat pattern punctuated only by claps of thunder and flashes of lightning.

“Da!”

“ ‘Da’ is not a word. You’re nearly a year old, how haven’t you said anything? I said _my_ first sentence within _seconds_ of activation, and you’ve yet to string together two words. Being half-human is no excuse, you know. You should have said something by now.” He gestured with the stick.

She just laughed, grabbing the ship and dragging it down to start chewing on it. Well, that was fine, Dib had procured the charm from some shop that sold things that were safe for humans to gnaw on for precisely this reason. (That was _after_ insisting that she shouldn’t use the toy Zim had initially bought, the one with a feather on the end. It had entertained Gir, why not Twix? Who cared if it was ‘for a cat’, she’d liked it!)

“You’re not helping your case. Laughter is not words.” He tugged lightly on the stick just as Dib walked in, soaked from the rain and carrying a bundle of growling fur. Zim immediately whirled around. “What in the name of the Tallest is that?”

“Oh, it’s a were-”

“It’s _wearing_ a coat of mud, get it out of here!”

“Come on! It was trying to dig up the flamingo in the front yard- I wasn’t even _looking_ for this one, but I’m _not_ letting it go now that it ran into my lap. Do you know how rare a melesathrope is? I’m just going to wash it and put it in a cage. You have all kinds of animal experiments-”

“Not filthy ones! What if Twix catches something from it?”

“She’s not going to because I’m heading down to the lab-”

“It’s your turn to watch her anyway!” Zim set down the stick to scoop her up. She was growing so big so fast, but he was more than strong enough to hold her. “I’ve been with her all day, and she _still_ hasn’t said a proper word yet.”

“Just give it- gah!” Dib was cut off as Gir bounded into the room, through the window all places. _While it was still closed._ He shook himself off, sending water everywhere and stepping all over the glass, probably ripping his suit. Again. Zim had told him a hundred times to just use the door, and now he was climbing up Dib to get a look at the furball in his arms. His hood had already fallen back on his head.

“Are you _replacing_ me?” He shrieked, horrified, and Zim marched over.

“Gir! What have I told you?”

“Lotsa things!” The little robot chirped, reaching for the werewere-were _whatever_ , and Dib held it up, still snarling.

“No, Gir! Bad robot!”

“Am not!” He kicked at Dib’s pants as he tried to scale him, and Zim pulled a cable out of his Pak to tug the robot away from Dib, getting water splattered on him and hissing from the burns.

“Bad Gir!” Zim echoed, and Gir’s lip started to wobble. “No, don’t cry, you’re acting like-”

“Gir!” Zim froze. Dib froze. Gir did _not_ freeze, still on the verge of crying, but when Zim dropped him on the ground he toddled away, already having forgotten what he was upset about. Zim looked down at Twix.

“ _What_ did you say?”

She looked up with a wide smile. “Gir, Gir!”

“That was-”

“-Her first word,” Dib finished. “Computer? Can you take this down to the cages?” He held up the furry thing, and there was an annoyed mechanical grunt before a vacuum tube appeared in the wall. Dib sent it through the tube, wiping his hands on his pants and tossing aside his coat to hold his clean arms up. Zim popped up on his Pak legs to hand her over. “Honestly, I figured it’d be one of our names.”

“Mine _better_ be her second,” Zim grumbled, but the big grin with the start of baby teeth practically forced his lips to twitch up. She really was going to grow up one day, wasn’t she? She wasn’t just going to be a lump of excitable meat forever. 

He slithered out his tongue in the way that always made her laugh, and she broke into giggles, waving a fist while the other clutched Dib’s shirt. Dib reached over to pull Zim into a sidehug, just taking a moment to breathe together. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and kudos appreciated!


	3. Why Her?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> People know why the weirdo Twix latches on to Tulip- she's nice. Too nice, maybe. But what does _Tulip_ get out of it?

“What do you _see_ in her?” 

“Hmm?” Tulip looked up from her sketchbook at Annie, who was hanging upside down from the monkey bars. It was a soft twilight, the sun not quite disappeared. Elizabeth and Skeeter had already left, and most of the kids had been hurried home by their parents for fear of the gathering clouds meaning rain.

“You know who I’m talking about. Membrane.” Annie’s hair rustled like yarn in the wind as she raised her eyebrow. (Although considering her current upside-down state, it was more like she was lowering it.) “She’s messed up. We’re almost fourteen and you still hang out with her even though you’re, like… _normal_. Is it just a childhood friends thing? You two used to be in the same class together and you just can’t peel her off you?”

“Hey, I _like_ Twix-”

“But _why_ , though? Not that I don’t trust your judgment, but she…” Annie sighed, pulling herself up and flipping over, landing neatly on the wood chips before leaning against the metal ladder. “You know she cuts open animals and stuff, right? She did it in front of Cheese once.”

“Yeah, I know, and I’ve been telling her it’s probably not good to do it at skool, some people are pretty uncomfortable with it and I get why.”

Annie pinched her nose. “Tulip. Bennett. Friend. Amigo. _That’s not the issue._ She could- she snaps on people all the time, aren’t you _worried?_ Even if you were friends when you were little for whatever reason, it’s a safety thing! She was rated most likely to blow up the skool _two years in a row_ and she just grinned! Somebody said they saw her tuck some kind of blaster thing into her locker and she set some kind of weaponized weasel on Clark!”

“You’d have to tick Twix off pretty badly for her to care enough to do that.” Tulip looked down to keep drawing, but she could feel Annie staring at her and sighed. “Do you want to know why I actually stick around her?”

“Uh, yeah? That’s why I asked?” 

“She doesn’t give a shit about what anyone else thinks.”

Annie froze for a moment before a laugh bubbled up. “Doesn’t give a- you _never_ swear!”

“She isn’t some weird zombie time-bomb like everybody thinks she is, she’s really passionate about a lot of stuff, and that gets _me_ excited about it, whether I was before or not. I’m never bored when we hang out because she never stops going, like that battery bunny. And I feel comfortable around her- she likes so much strange stuff that I never feel like I have to hide anything or be embarrassed. When we’re hanging out I don’t need to have any walls up and it’s just… easy.” 

Tulip smiled, drawing a little spiral in the corner of her page. “She doesn’t make me watch the dead animal stuff because she knows it weirds me out a little, but she’s taught me a lot about gardening and helped me to start my own at home. And she really likes the stuff _I_ make too. Did you know that I made that green shirt she wears sometimes?”

“…No,” Annie admitted. “But that doesn’t answer my question. You’re _really_ not worried? Everybody knows that family’s kinda… eh… I know her dad works at the Labs, but you remember when he scooped her up a few months ago while yelling about vampires, right? And my mom says her other dad’s been kicked out of the PTA like four times for trying to fight the other parents. They’re all kinda messed up.”

“Every family’s got issues, but I’ve been to her house a few times.” Tulip shrugged. “They’re just eccentric, and they love her as much as my dad loves me, they just show it differently.”

Annie chewed on the inside of her cheek. “Still seems weird to me, but if you’re-”

“I’m sure,” Tulip said firmly, adding petals to the outside of the spiral to make it into a rose. “Twix _is_ weird, but that’s what I like about her. She’s just sure of herself and doesn’t feel bad about what she likes. I don't have to stifle myself around her like I do around other people because she likes _me_ the way _I_ am.” 

Annie shrugged. “Just be careful. I don’t want you getting hurt.”

Tulip tilted her head. The rose had a little kink when she'd moved her elbow, but otherwise, it came out nice. “I’ve known her long enough I don’t think I will, but… thanks.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one literally came out of sort of plopping Tulip down and asking 'okay, I know why Twix likes you, but why do you like her _back?"_ Any ao3-exclusive people don't really see much of Tulip, but their relationship is really fun to play around with, from both Tulip's side and Twix's.
> 
> Comments and kudos appreciated!


	4. Swap

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The girls mess around in the lab and accidentally swap bodies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lot of these were based off of ideas tossed off in the discord. There wasn't any real buildup, it was just 'what if bodyswap'.

The first thing Tulip noticed was her loss of ears. Twix’s antennae were up the way that they always were when they were alone, so she could hear okay, but it was different than hearing with ears- she was hearing _vibrations_ from the thrumming walls as much as she was hearing sounds, and they twitched funny when she reached up to brush her fingers over them. She tapped the short one and she could feel it but only halfway. Seeing it was different from feeling the broken neurons.

Her heart- _was_ it a heart?- was moving at a different speed, and her stomach- didn’t Twix say all her organs were kind of mushed into one?- turned, bubbling with whatever she’d last eaten. Taking a step, her whole body was stretched out, like her weight had been pulled out like taffy and kneaded into the heavy feeling inside of her guts and head. The goggles felt too tight, but when she pulled them up, everything blurred like a foggy mirror.

“Your body is _weird_ , T.” Hearing her own voice was jarring, and Tulip pulled the goggles back on to see herself, wiggling her fingers and patting at her ears. “You’re so squishy. Are the lab’s colors really _that_ shade of purple?” Her voice with Twix’s inflections was almost eerie, but that comment prompted her to look around.

Sure enough, the colors were off- irken eyes must have a different range than human ones did. No wonder she liked things in the most neon purple she could get her hands on.

Twix had started to squish and poke at Tulip’s body. “Oh, you’ve got stretchmarks on your arms? Those are neat, they’re like little indents sunk in. Geez, am I always this loud? Is that just because I’m hearing myself talking better now?”

Tulip couldn’t help a giggle, and it vibrated something deeper in her chest. “Yeah, you’re always that loud.”

“Well, I’ve got a nice voice, but it’s good to know.” Twix grimaced. “And do you always make this much saliva?”

Standing in an alien base, half-alien at the moment, Tulip just grinned.

Never a dull moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and kudos appreciated!


	5. Rings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There is a proposal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know how much I still like this one (it's 7 months old) but it's still cute, so.

“I can’t believe they killed the monster at the end,” Twix griped. “He was so sweet!”

“Most people don’t see them the same way we do.” Tulip squeezed Twix’s hand, a soft laugh escaping her. “You were crying at the end, weren’t you?”

“Maybe a- he deserved better! Maybe he wouldn’t get the girl, but he should have at least been allowed to go back home! It’s propaganda, _propaganda_ I tell you.” 

“Sure it is.” Tulip let go of Twix to give a spin. “But look around us, the park’s in full bloom! I love spring.”

A smile tugged at Tulip’s lips as she fingered the lapel of her jacket, watching the royal purple of Tulip’s dress as she admired a nearby rosebush. “It really is beautiful.”

“If your grandpa ever fires you, you could get a job arranging the plants around here.”

“They wouldn’t have the resources to keep up with my tastes,” Twix said, adjusting her bow tie before sucking in a deep breath. “Tulip?”

“Oh, the sunset looks so pretty from over the hill, come on!” The freckles on Tulip’s cheeks danced as she grinned back at Twix before starting to jog. “We’re just in time for it if we hurry!”

Twix followed through the arch of trees- most of the city was a polluted mess, but somehow this small area had survived. It was probably just a matter of needing oxygen provided by something, but if you could ignore the litter, it was beautiful with brilliant colors painting the trees and grass. Twix dropped a small container as she caught up. Tulip was sitting on the hill, knees folded to the side. Slowly, as the sky was bathed in scarlet and plum as the sun began to set over the city. 

“Tulip…” 

“Hmm?” She turned, hair bobbing slightly with the motion, and Twix settled down next to her.

On one knee.

Tulip’s mouth fell open as Twix pulled a box from her jacket. “Tulip, I’ve never had a friend like you. You always manage to see the bright side, and you helped me to be a better person. I can’t imagine spending my life with anyone else. Will you-”

“Oh my _god,_ ” Tulip’s hands covered her mouth, the words coming out muffled. Her eyes were wide as she tugged up her dress. There was a sound of velcro being torn apart before she pulled out a lilac box, popping it open before Twix could. “I-”

They stared at each other for a moment before starting to laugh. Twix fell to both knees, tugging up her goggles to rub at her eyes. 

“ _You_ were going to-”

“I swear I didn’t know-”

“I tried to be so secretive, of _course_ you didn’t-”

“Let me see yours!” Tulip reached for the box, and when Twix popped it open, a spray of sparkles erupted from the box. A few moments later, an identical stream sprung from the container she’d dropped up to the sky, bursting into a pair of fireworks. “You-”

“Zim helped,” Twix admitted. “So did Dad.”

“Mine doesn’t come with pyrotechnics…” Tulip admitted, but Twix pulled her into a kiss, moving Tulip into her lap as if she belonged there. She ran her fingers through the fire-red curls, and Tulip’s palm settled on her hip. The kiss tasted of cherry chapstick and popcorn, and when Tulip pulled away, her freckles were half-smothered with a deep flush. The sun had nearly set, and it rippled in her eyes like freshly-blown glass.

“That’s okay. I loved it.”

“I love you.” The words were so simple, and although Tulip said them half a dozen times a day as if her body couldn’t contain them, the warm sugar oozing through the tone made Twix’s heart sing.

“I love you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and kudos appreciated!


	6. Purple Leaf

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Your name is Tulip, and you meet someone new.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tulip first meeting Twix. Like the previous one, this is kind of old, but I want to share it, so here it is. Made a couple of minute edits just to bring things in line with 'canon'.

Your name is Tulip Bennett, and you’re excited and a little worried about your first day of second grade. You got used to your classmates last year, but having to adjust to new ones is going to be strange, to say the least. It’s a big building- it’s possible you might not know _anyone!_ Still, that just means you can make new friends, which is always something to look forward to. Who knows what could be waiting for you?

You hug your notebook to your chest, looking around the playground. You recognize Tommy and Igorik, but they’re playing together already and were never really that friendly to you, being a girl and all. Still, they’re out. Heather? No, she’s jumping rope and you know how intense she can get about _that._ Yimmij? He’s absorbed in a comic book. Hmm… 

You spot movement in the tree to the left of the building and walk over, calling up. “Hello?” There was more rustling before a pair of shiny ovals poke out from the branches. The fall colors aren’t as bright as they always are in magazines, but the leaves still cover most of their body- they’re in a high branch, aren’t they worried about falling? You can see black hair, though.

“Hi.” The voice sounds like a girl.

“I’m Tulip. Why’re you in the tree?”

“I wanted to be.” She paused. “I’m Twix.”

“That’s a nice name.”

Twix smiles and her teeth are kind of pink. Maybe she’d eaten too much candy. You wished you had some caramel left in your pockets to share, since it might make her like you, but you ran out yesterday and forgot to ask for more.

“Thanks.”

“How old are you?” You stretch up on your tiptoes and then rock back on your heels.

“Huh?”

You call it up louder. “I said, how old are you?”

“Why’d’ya wanna know?” She shifts on the tree branch, and a leaf flutters down. It’s the same red as your hair, so you pick it up and tuck it in your pocket.

“I’m eight. I’m in second grade!” you say, and Twix seems to consider for a moment

“I’m eight too,” she replies, before scooting down the branch and then carefully making her way down the trunk. Now that you’re on the same level, you could see that she’s a little taller than you, and her head bobs up and down as she looks you over. She’s wearing light blue overalls, with a purple long-sleeved shirt underneath it. She also has a blue butterfly clip in her hair, which you immediately like. “What class are you in?”

“I had Mr. Jones last year. This year I’m with Miss Rudge.”

“Oh, me too!” Twix says. “We’ll be classmates, then. I was homeschooled until now, so that explains it.”

You smile. “Yeah, I guess so!” 

“I was trying to get the one purple leaf up in the tree. Mutations are really neat,” Twix says, producing a five-pointed leaf from the big pocket on the front of her overalls. The pocket had a star on it, which you approved of, but more importantly, that particular purple was your favorite color! 

“Wooooow. How did you even _see_ that? There’s gotta be a billion leaves on that tree!”

She beams, adjusting her goggles. “I’m really good at spotting funny stuff, especially when it comes to plants! Dad says it’s a talent.”

“Must be,” you agree, looking closer at the leaf. It was ragged on the edges- bugs must have been nibbling on it. Well, if you were a bug, _you’d_ sure go for the cool-colored leaf too. The bell starts to chime, and Twix tucks the leaf into her pocket, holding out her hand. For the first time, you notice her sleeves actually go halfway up her hand with a slit for her thumb. You look up at her- you didn’t usually shake hands with people unless an adult asked for it- but she had a look of steely determination in her eyes, so you take it and shake.

It takes until you actually touch her to notice she’s missing a finger on each hand. It would just be plain rude to point it out, so you don’t- she has to already know, and you’d be sick of it if someone brought something up like that to _you._

Twix looks around at the kids flooding into the school and crouches down to pick up a snail and drop it into her pocket on top of the leaf as you watch before heading for the building, glancing back to see if you’re coming. You follow behind her.

You have a good feeling about this year.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and kudos appreciated!


	7. Not a Tapeworm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Twix is charging her Pak. New information comes to light.

She was charging her Pak with her laptop balanced on her knees when the charging chamber sounded a little beep. Twix waved a hand. "Yeah, yeah, what is it?"

 ** _Anomaly detected_** ** _,_** came the automatic reply.

"Did I catch a bug something? I _have_ been kind of tired the last few days. And I'm charging on time now!" She wasn't sure why she felt the need to defend herself to the automated chamber. It didn't have a personality like the Computer back at the base. "If this is just another case where a speck of dust got in there and it says I'm having organ failure, I swear-"

 _ **Secondary life-form detected,**_ the chamber chimed.

"Oh, gross, I've got a tapeworm? Well, flush it out." Twix rolled her eyes, going back to the computer.

_**Lifeform has elements of Pak user.** _

Her finger froze on the 'b' key. "It... what? Analyze species origin."

The chamber hummed around Twix as sweat dripped down the skin of her neck. There was a tiny 'ding!' like a kitchen timer.

_**Lifeform is too underdeveloped to make more than approximations but is roughly 25% irken and 75% Dominant Earth Species.** _

Her scream rattled the walls.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I ever tell you guys that Twix has two kids when she grows up and one of them was adopted and one was biologically hers? 
> 
> She got a Pak for her 25th birthday and it helped fix her organs to make them more irken. And more fertile. _Oops._ (They had just finalized the adoption like a month ago. Two kids for the price of one!)
> 
> Comments and kudos appreciated!


	8. Soft

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dib has a crappy day. He's reminded of how nice what he has is, though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one was meeeeega self-indulgent. Characters being chubby and their partners loving is a big thing for me. It's great.
> 
> This is about a year and a half after the epilogue- they marry officially when Twix is six. It was mentioned there, but yeah, Zim kept some baby weight (and maybe a lil extra) and Dib thinks it's adorable. Fight me.

"Mmph." Dib flopped face-first down against the couch. Or, rather, against Zim.

He couldn't see (or, for that matter, smell) anything but black faux-spandex and the warm thighs they covered, but definitely felt Zim poke one pointy little finger at his head.

"What? What is it? Are you broken?"

"Shitty day," Dib mumbled.

"Ah," Zim said, and Dib could practically see him give a sage nod. "Who do I have to kill?"

"The concept of paperwork," Dib muttered. "I'm finishing up a project and it's a pain in the ass."

"Hmm." Zim drummed his fingers on Dib's scalp, and Dib shifted slightly, cheek pressing against Zim's middle. He'd always been pleasantly surprised by just how soft the material of Zim's tunic was- although it made sense, if they only had one option for uniforms. A soldier in comfortable clothing was an efficient one. "I'm afraid that's beyond even _my_ incredible capabilities."

"Well, this is helping, at least." Dib flipped himself over so he was staring up at Zim. At that, Zim grinned, tracing a hand down Dib's cheek. Dib could faintly feel the new wedding ring underneath his smooth glove. Even after a few months, the tiny reminders they were _married_ now still gave him a thrill.

"Merely being near my presence?"

Dib grinned back. "Nah. This." He turned to his side again, yanking Zim's tunic up and burying his face in the irken's pudgy abdomen. Zim always smelled like motor oil and pixie sticks, and Dib nuzzled his nose against it, feeling the skin warm as Zim flushed, tugging at his hair spike.

_"Warn_ me before you do that, you _rotten little filth-monster-"_

"I love you so much," Dib muttered directly into Zim's skin. It was the best pillow he'd ever had, and knowing that it had been _his_ kid and _his_ encouragement of indulgences Zim already enjoyed anyway always spread a grin across his face. Zim's grip loosened slightly on his hair.

"Dib?"

Dib nuzzled his cheek against where Zim's belly button would be. "You're so soft..."

"I am _not."_ The tone was a little lighter this time, though.

"You are." Dib pulled back just enough to look at him. "But that's a good thing. You're perfect, your body was built like this to help you carry Twix, and now to keep you sturdy and to make you into a great cushion and a good hugger. You've seen how Twix likes snuggling against you when we watch movies."

Zim started smiling as his eyes drifted towards the TV. "That _is_ true..."

Dib placed a gentle kiss on the supple skin. "You're still perfectly sculpted, just in a different mold. One made for Twix and I. Besides, a little more of you is always good, right?"

"That is _also_ true." Zim set his hand on Dib's cheek again and the other on his back, lifting him carefully until their faces were even instead of Dib looking down like he usually had to. If anyone other than Zim had tried to puppet him around, he'd break their arm, but by now, he was used to this. Trusting of this. He could feel the edges of the claws underneath the gloves, but he knew he was safe.

Zim tilted his head, a pleased smirk across his face. "Well, Dib-mate, you somehow managed to domesticate an irken elite."

Dib grinned. "Cheers to that."

When their lips met, it tasted of sugar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and kudos appreciated!


	9. Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first time the PZA met.

It had been a strange signal. None of them knew where it had come from, but all of them wanted to find out- especially because it had their names all over it.

Where it had come from was a single irken Zim, standing in front of what appeared to be a large Earthen building with a grin spread across his face.

“Welcome.”

“What’s going on?” A human with scars and off-mint skin already had a gun pointed at the irken. “How did you know my name, and who are _these_ clowns?” 

“I have important things to be doing, so this _better_ be good!” a huge irken in Tallest robes declared, smacking away the human who immediately shot him and started running when the Tallest one started chase with a growl.

“Oh, it is.” Zim grinned, waggling his hips a little before nodding at a Dib and Twix over to the side. “As some of you _may_ know, my daughter has recently become aware of interdimensional travel, and we thought it would be fun to meet the Zims throughout the multiverse!”

“Multiverse? You’re kidding.” Another human with a thick pink hoodie and greasy hair looked around, leaning away from a chubby-looking Zim in a red robe who was staring wide-eyed at him. “You telling me all of these freaks are versions of _me?_ ”

“Most of them, yes! Although I must admit, I didn’t think there’d be humans…. the beam must have gone wider than I thought! I amaze even myself sometimes.” Zim grinned. “Now! I made snacks, so-”

He nearly got trampled in the stampede to the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm at the very tail end of my huge project for school so fingers crossed I can start up on TD again soon, figured I'd throw a couple more drabbles over here- and clarify how the PZA started. It _was_ AIP Zim! This was one of a couple of requests that I did.


	10. Grow for Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Twix gets an idea for a new sort of plant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for implied animal death.

He’d waved Twix off for the day. 

“I need time to think of what to do with all these infernal chickens. The breeding program worked far too well- because I’m amazing- but I only have so many cages for them.” The last she had seen him, he’d been trying to blast the stragglers into roast bird meat, and he seemed frazzled enough that she didn’t want to risk him accidentally zapping her.

Right now, she was holding a juicy bug over Casey, one of her favorite flytraps.

“I just don’t know.” She sighed, the fly’s little legs cycling in midair as she squeezed the tweezers a little tighter, cheek resting in her other hand. “I want to help, but how?”

Casey didn’t say anything, waiting for his meal. 

“I just wish I could use one of _you_ in some way.” She squeezed the fly a little more until goo started oozing out its sides and she dropped it into Casey’s waiting maw. He snapped shut, and the wiggling from the half-dead fly only pulled the ‘mouth’ tighter. “Everything else, they know better than I do.”

Twix drummed her fingers against the table. “Hmm….” There was a slight buzz from the fly before the acid flooding the ‘mouth’ silenced it forever. She’d bred them to work on a quicker timescale than most flytraps- the meat would be gone by tomorrow. 

The meat.

Her gaze snapped back to the plant, and a wide grin spread across her face.

______________________

She dug around in what Papa called the ‘extra’ room, filled with stuff too volatile to keep in storage but too potentially useful to completely destroy. There was a whole section of various chemicals and potions, magic mixed in with science since Dad used this room too.

“Werewolf extract, essence of mall goth, poison, poison, _slow-acting_ poison…” Twix shifted the other bottles aside. “Come on, there’s got to be… ah!” A blue test tube filled with something called ‘living growth serum’. Plants _were_ living, so it’d work fine!

She carefully drew it out of the tube with a syringe, tapping out the bubbles the way she’d seen Papa do before returning to the greenhouse, still grinning.

_____________________

It was easy enough to breed the two largest flytraps she had- Casey and Yenna. She pulled gloves on, before sticking them in the tiny time-stasis field installed in the corner of her greenhouse and turning it forward. They both withered a little, but the seeds popped out and she hurriedly shut it off again, reaching in to pluck out the seeds. 

Twix set aside two of them, picking one and injecting it with a bit of the serum and planting it in a new plot before watering it and sticking it back into the field.

When a tiny sprout poked out of the soil, she shut the field off again and injected half of the serum into the base of it. Immediately, it perked up, growing a full inch higher.

“You’re going to play nice for me, aren’t you?” Twix held up the pot, moving it over to a good spot and pulling out her labels before scribbling a name down.

## VENNIE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep, this is the origin of Vennie. I was kind of waiting until I added more to this to plop it over here, but it hasn't happened yet, so.
> 
> No, I wasn't listening to the Little Shop of Horrors soundtrack while writing this, what are you talking about
> 
> Anyway, comments/kudos are, as always, appreciated!


	11. Crave

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zim is hungry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short tumblr prompt. A cutesy little thing inspired by [Relish](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21250679), so I wanted to throw it over here.

“Dib.”

“No.”

“Diiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiib.” Zim’s voice rolled the same way Dib’s stomach currently was, with Zim’s own impressive baby-belly smushed against him. Sweet, hot breath misted over his collarbones as Zim tugged his coat to the side, exposing his neck.

“I _refuse_ to believe that the baby wants this.” Dib tugged the coat back up.

“But you have so _much_ , you won’t even miss it!” Zim protested. “My mouth is perfectly clean!”

“Weren’t you eating nachos with frosting like ten minutes ago?”

“Unimportant!” Zim tugged at Dib’s jacket again. “I can bring you down to the healing pod, you won’t even have a scar unless you want to.”

“ _I’m_ the vampire, not you.”

“Please?” Zim tilted his head, antennae lowered, and looked so much like a kicked puppy that Dib groaned, yanking his collar to the side in one smooth motion.

“Fine, but make it quick.”

Zim gave an ecstatic chirp before he sank his teeth into the dip where Dib’s neck met his shoulder.


	12. Freak

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Twix and Tulip get in a fight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tulip has... definitely been underdeveloped for a while, and the discord had a suggestion or two for that. These two have some stuff to figure out between them when they start dating.

Twix’s boots squealed on the tile like a hog being slaughtered as she pivoted. It was mostly squeaky clean, except for the tiny particles of dirt stuck to her steel-tipped boots. She’d told the computer to not watch the upper level for a few hours, she’d get into the elevator when she needed him. She wanted privacy. Her phone burned in her pocket. Not literally, she had a Mem-brand one that wouldn’t overheat unless she tried to get it to calculate pi like last time, but metaphorically.

“T?” Tulip’s knocks on the door were hesitant. “Can I come in?”

Twix didn’t answer, for a moment. Let her stew. She hated feeling guilty, right? Had bemoaned about it to Twix, how it was just awful to have that feeling of lead and bile in her stomach, heavy and thick like rotted oatmeal clumped together into a brick.

“Yeah, you can come in.”

The door opened. “Are your dads home?”

Twix shook her head. “They’re somewhere out in space. I’ve got the place to myself for a few days.”

“Oh, maybe we could check out how many places we could go in the holosim room!” Her hands were folded neatly, but pressed together so hard that they were shaking. She was very, very good about having the appearance of poise.

“Why would you want to do that?” Twix folded her arms, tilting her head, knowing that her eyes were completely hidden and her goggles were reflecting Tulip’s cracking façade back at her. 

“But- but you always liked that.” What little smile she had was falling to pieces, dead leaves splintering off a withering growth and spiraling down to the ground.

“Sure I do. But why would _you_ want to do that?”

“Because… I like it too? Twix, what’s going on? You’re usually so forward.”

“Never had a reason not to be. Either people like me, or they get the fuck out of my way. And _you_ don’t seem to want to be around me.” Twix took a step forward to meet Tulip in the center of the room, then another, taking every inch from the molt and holding it over Tulip’s widening eyes. She’d thrown on another sweater to keep her wings from buzzing.

Tulip swallowed. “Tell me what this is about or I’m leaving.”

“Casey and Batt. Fourth period.”

Tulip sucked in a breath, before shaking her head. “Wait, how did you even hear that? I thought you were banned from the third floor!”

“I am, but Ms. Johnson moved up to there after the roof collapsed on the science room, so I’m allowed to go to her class.”

“Really? You _weren’t_ just trying to spy on me again?” Tulip straightened herself up.

“No! We agreed, during school hours-”

“We agreed that you needed to knock it off _entirely_ , Twix!” Tulip chewed on her lip, and Twix threw up her arms.

“Oh, now you’re going to cry, right when I need to actually talk to you about something serious?”

“This _is_ serious, Twix!” Tulip tugged her shawl tighter around herself, like it was a shield against alien cooties. “I feel like you have no idea what privacy is, you showed up in my _room_ once! At 10 at night!”

“I said I was sorry, I thought you’d be happy because you said you’d had such a shitty time that day!” 

_Breathe. Remember what the counselor said._

Twix sucked in a breath, then let it out. “This isn’t about me. I fucked up before but I’m trying to work on it, but this is about you _blatantly_ shit-talking me.”

“You must have misheard.”

“I wouldn’t have stopped if I hadn’t heard my name. I like to know what people are saying about me, just to see how much stuff gets blamed on the school boogieman. It’s good for a laugh, usually, because they’re generally a bunch of idiots, but imagine my surprise when I hear it’s _you_.” Twix flexed her fingers in and out, claws nearly snagging the fabric on the palms of her hands.

“I was trying to defend you, I was just repeating back what they’d said to get the story straight.”

“It sure didn’t sound like it.” Twix’s voice fractured, just a bit. “ _Freak_ sounds so much worse when it’s coming from you. Especially when you add stalker onto it. Nobody else did that.”

“It’s true. You can’t say it’s not, Twix.”

“Maybe it is, but you don’t just… just…” Twix yanked at her antennae, feeling even the short one twinge with the pain. “I’m _trying!_ I don’t know how any of this works, and I’m trying, and I love you so bad and I want to show it but I don’t know _how!”_

“And I’m supposed to just _fix_ you?” Tulip snapped. “You _terrify_ me sometimes, I’m supposed to be your girlfriend, not your babysitter! Most of us had to figure this stuff out years ago, I’m not going to hold your hand while you figure out how to be a person!”

“Then can you at least not make everyone think that I’m going to murder you in your sleep? They all avoid me enough!”

“You’ve never worried about that kind of stuff before, I didn’t think you’d care!” Tulip swallowed. “Come on, Twix, it’s not that big a deal…”

“Yeah, it kind of is! I hear mutant freak enough, but-” Her voice cracked again, and she coughed to cover it. “Why do you even care so much? Why does their opinion matter more than me?”

“They’re nice kids, I don’t want them not liking me because-”

“Because you associate with me. Because I’m that poisonous.” Twix’s voice settled at a low growl, low enough in her throat that it was certainly irken. “Why did you ever even agree to date me, if you want to hide that so badly?”

“I- I don’t want to hide, but-”

“But? But what?” Twix’s antennae laid low against her skull. “But you just don’t want anyone to know that you actually _care_ about me? Or but you just don’t have the guts to break up? Fine, I’ll make it easy for you: If you find it _so_ easy to just talk behind my back-”

“It’s not that simple!” Tulip burst out. “I’m not as confident as you, you know that, it was just to get them to like me, you’ve never cared what anyone else thought of you, how was I supposed to know that you’d _hear_ it?”

“So you’d say it if I didn’t hear it?”

“Yes- no!”

“That was a yes.”

“You tricked me into it, I meant no!” 

“No, you didn’t.”

“Yes, I did!”

Twix grit her teeth. “How am I supposed to trust you if you’ll just- just do that?”

“How am _I_ supposed to drop my whole social life because you can’t help being the weirdest person in school?” Tulip shot back. “I do care about you, but it’s so, _so_ hard sometimes, because you just don’t know how to act, and sometimes I’m sick of waiting for you to play catchup just because your parents are the town freaks!” She slapped her hands over her mouth and took a step back.

Twix’s eye twitched under her goggles. “At least they’re freaks that love me. I’ll see you tomorrow, third period.”

“Twix-”

“I _said,”_ Twix said through gritted teeth, “I’ll see you tomorrow. Get out before I reactivate the security.” 

Tulip got out, and Twix buried her face in a couch pillow and screamed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and kudos appreciated, as always!


End file.
